Bears Remain Glued to Stock Exchange After N62bn Loss

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited shrank by 0.11 per cent on Tuesday after the bears extended their stay at the bourse on the back of sustained sell-offs in blue-chip equities like MTN Nigeria, GTCO, Zenith Bank and others.

The value of the stock exchange depreciated by N62 billion during the session to N59.116 trillion from N59.178 trillion, as the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 110.03 points to 104,553.31 points from 104,663.34 points.

This occurred despite the key sectors of the equity market all closing in the green territory, according to data obtained by Business Post.

The banking space rose by 1.07 per cent, the insurance counter appreciated by 0.59 per cent, the consumer goods index improved by 0.16 per cent, the industrial goods sector jumped by 0.12 per cent, and the energy space went up by 0.04 per cent.

There were 27 appreciating stocks and 23 depreciating stocks on Tuesday, representing a positive market breadth index and a strong investor sentiment.

International Energy Insurance gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N1.32, International Breweries rose by 9.89 per cent to N4.89, Juli soared by 9.85 per cent to N5.91, NEM Insurance increased by 9.59 per cent to N8.00, and FBN Holdings expanded by 9.06 per cent to N43.95.

On the opposite side, DAAR Communications declined by 9.86 per cent to 64 Kobo, CWG slumped by 9.09 per cent to N5.50, Sovereign Trust Insurance slipped by 8.51 per cent to 43 Kobo, UPDC REIT dwindled by 6.36 per cent to N5.15, and Fidson crashed by 6.25 per cent to N15.00.

The activity chart was mixed on the trading day, with the value of transactions down by 29.63 per cent to N7.6 billion from N10.8 billion, while the volume of transactions increased by 6.82 per cent to 307.1 million from 287.5 million, and the number of deals moved up by 5.19 per cent to 9,548 deals from 9,077 deals.

FBN Holdings closed the day as investors’ toast, trading 37.8 million shares worth N1.6 billion, as UBA transacted 36.9 million equities valued at N954.4 million. Access Holdings sold 28.1 million stocks for N649.3 million, Transcorp traded 21.6 million shares worth N322.6 million, and Fidelity Bank exchanged 19.8 million stocks valued at N200.5 million.